Resilient wheel



F. RIDENOUR.

' HESILIENT WHEEL.

APPucATloN FILED JuLv 11. 1 922.

Patented Nov. 28, 19221.

Patented Nov. 28, 1922.

.UNITED STATES FRANCIS M. RIDENOUR,

or qnrnnsvrnnn, TEXAS.

nEsILIENT-wnnnn Application nlkedquvly 11,

T 0 all whom 'it may concern:

Be itknown that 1, FRANCIS M.vRmnNotgR, a citizenL of the United Statesof America, and resident of Gainesville, in the county of Cooke andStateof Texas, have-invented `certain new and useful Improvements inResilient Wheels, of which ythe following is a. specification. i

vThis invention relates to resilient ,.wlieells, y and particularly to awheel intended "for, 4use onautomobiles, by means of which itis-,in-'ytended that its resilient characterA shall be .suchjas to permit theuse of vcushiontires, n while` getting the same, elasticorneasy ingeffect: as is produced by` the pneumatic ttires now .in common use.

` lItis an object, therefore, of this ,inventionto producemechanicalmeans inassociated relation with thehubsectionand "a rimA section of awheel, by which the "rim is resiliently heldin spaced frelationltobthefhubf section a nd by means of ,whicha spring or cushioning action willresult tothe stated.

Itis a furtherobject of this" invention to produce a resilient -wheel ofthe. character indicated in y,which resilient orlspringf,ellen ments are.shackled or coupledjtogetherulto permit such free movementi of fthe.parts as to obviate unnatural distortion of the springgis or elements,and `which will enable y,theA wheel to absorb-normal road shocksL,without'impairing the device or causenndue wear of the parts.

It is a further object* of this invention (to produce a wheel,theactiony ofthe elements v'of which will-not` be impaired, bytheaccumulation of ymud .or foreign. substances, since the ,saidelements will be ,self-acting to displace orrdislodge any suchaccumulations that may. occur. R The invention furthermore contemplatesthevprovision of a device of the character indicated which willbeeilicient and com paratively inexpensve.

4Vith the foregoingand ,otherfobjects ,in view, the invention consistsin .thedetails of construction, and inthe arrangement, and combinationof parts to be hereinafter more fully setwforth and claimed.

ln describing the invention in deta`il ref- `erence will be vhadto thev.accompanying saialtlpfwaie drawings ,f forming V.part of` this`application vlgyvherein cl iara'ctersl denote, Acorrespondv,Klingtparts 1in ,fthe y,several"views, rand in i'which.. l 4 I l .Eigure y1illustrates@ Viewin elevation .jFigurenQ illustrates an enlarged,sectional ,hviewonl,.theiline 2-,-.2`. of Fi`g. i1;

' Figure' 3: illustratsfa similar `view on. the hp ,3 wgrlf Eig. ,l

""Figure llrill'ustrates a plan viewof the ri/ inwiththetire removed;and

:Figure 5" illustrates',aperspective ,view Of Ifragmentsf:of'elem:e'iitsfrvof Vfthe i eonstruc- @palpar-telly damned."

` thesedrawings'l:,have shown. an inner section f which; will ..bel,hereinafter .termed ,-;il1.lh1.1b Sptpa pr'rllpr'siins f a hub "10,,usp esk.]1,andfrimflQ.r Thishub section; is g; 1 belgischepresentembodimentfafiherinvni afandihelrimspref- )veljably vided .,with d" a:band l or .annular channel 'iron 13 ,.-elcbrips ,the periphery Iandartslvof the sidesofthe said rim and `place .,byapprdpriate" fastenings-lhe element may-b appliedlin a numher of :enel skilled .in `the artwill A under tand,and` therefore, further Vdetailed=deriptionjsbelievedunnecessaryf lnnerspringsror,,springfelements 15arek glptsgnredophjlhub segtinby fastenings i6 yllld pr erably @by an.interposed base or v,block to givethe; .properl bearing. which lthe s}gri1l1rgf may engage.` `Infthe present embodiment this invention, sixsuc-h .Qspringsare` employed iandthe are of unig'for'm' ,len'gjrthfyTheirends A.terminate in spacedrelation,tonne another and in spaced[relation to StlnerA signfing'f ,elements 18, which `ina/,y bekterrinedi,y intermediate spring ele- ,ments. Infthevzpresent embodimentofthe invention,therergarelsix .intermediate spring elernelyits@and theventend. acrossy the ends of l'twoof the spring elements l5 v. andterminate r.in?spacedrelation'to{outer spring elements '1.9,'siirlofuwhich are, employed in lthe present embodimentfoftheQi'nvention.

lThe,outer'lrim'fofthewheel, in this em- ;bod'inen A.,of the"inventio-nisconstructed of png 1205;]hefing pptwafily @Xtendins flanges 2l and 22to which the annular tire seat '28 is applied, the said tire seat beingprovided with any suitable tire 24.

The tire seat 23 has flanges 25 which, in this embodiment ot' theinvention,j'fit within the flanges 21 and 22, and these parts aresecured together by fastenings 26 such as bolts.

The ring 2O has a plurality of apertures 27 with ears 28 extendingoutwardly on each side of each aperture, and these ears constituteanchorages for pins 29 on which links 30 are pivoted, the said linksbeing of such length and in such relation to the outer spring elementsas to afford a connectioii by which one end of each outer spring elementis secured to the ring. rlhe ring also has a plurality of pairs ofV lugs3l which extend inwardly..and the outer spring elements have their lendsremote from the links connected to the saidlugs, so` that during theirmovement,v the outer spring` elements oscillate slightly on pintles 32extending through and supported by a pair of lugs.

Preferably at a point midway the length of each outer spring element, ashackle or coupling is provided, to which ends of the intermediatespring elements maybe connected, and preferably midway between the endsof the intermediate spring elements, shackles or couplings are providedby which the inner spring elements are yconnected to the intermediatespring elements..` As the shackles or couplingsfor the endsvof theyintermediate and inner spring elements are of identical construction, adescription of one of them will suffice as a 'disclosure to one skilledin the art. Each shackle or coupling,

therefore, comprises a base plate 33 having apertures 34 by .whichfasteningsmay be employed to secure it to its respective spring element.Each plate has a pair. of apertured lugs or flanges 35V projectingpreferably inwa'rdly when theplate 'is applied to a spring element, anda pair of apertured lugs or ears 36 which extend preferably outwardlywhen the plate is secured to a spring element. A pin or coupling 37extends through the apertures of ythe 'lugs or 'ears 35 and serves as afixed pivot on which one end of one of the spring elements is secured,whereas the lugs or ears 36 coiistituteanchorages or supports for a pin38 on which links 39'ar`e oscillatably mounted, and these links areconnected to the end of Aan adjacent spring element or what might betermed the next succeeding spring element "in the circumference of thewheel.

It is seen from an inspection of' the drawing, that the end of thespring element that is not displaceable with I relation to the springelement to which it is attached, is paired with the end of thesucceeding spring element which has -a pivotal connection through theoscillatable links, and this allowance for movement permits a yieldingaction and insures such resiliency as will prove effective in absorbingars and vibration.

lt isV seen that the links 39 are connected to the spring elements bypins or pivots 40, and as stated, the parts are duplicated and result incooperative action of the spring elements that are interposed betweenthe hub section and the rim section.

I claim:

l. In a resilient Wheel, a hub section, inner spring elements secured tothe hub section between their ends, intermediate spring elementsextending across the ends of the inner spring elements, oscillatorymeans for connecting the end of one of the 'inner spring elements totheintermediate spring element, means for connecting the inner springelement to the next succeeding intermediate spring element, outer springelements each of which extends across the ends of two adjacent springelements, an oscillatory device by which one end of each intermediatespring element is connected to the outer spring element, means forconnecting the opposite end of each intermediate spring` element to theadjacent outer spring element, a rim, an oscillatory device carried bythe rim for each outer spring element, means for connecting theoscillatory device to one end of one of the outer spring elements, andmeans for connecting another end of each outer spring element to thesaid 100 riin.

2. In a resilient wheel, a hub section, inner spring elements secured tothe hub section between their ends, intermediate sprin elementsextending across the endsyof the 105 inner spring elements, means forconnecting the end of one of the inner spring elements to one of theintermediate spring elements, means for connecting the opposite end ofeach inner spring element to next succeed- 110 ing intermediate springelement, progressively, outer spring elements, each of which lextendsacross the ends of two adjacent spring elements, a device by which oneend of veach intermediate spring 'element is con- 115 nected to an outerspring element, means for connecting the opposite end of eachintermediate spring element to an adjacent outer spring elementprogressively, a rim, devices carried by the rim, and means forconnecting the ends of the outer spring elements to the said devices.

3. In a resilient wheel, a hub section and a rim in spaced relation toeach other, inner spring elements between their ends secured to the hubsection and extending in a direction transversely of the axis of thehub,

outer spring elements, means for securing a space between the inner andouter spring elements and extending in the general direction as to theaxis of the hub Aoccupied by the inner spring` elements, means on eaciiintermediate spring element for connecting the ends of the adjacentinner spring elements thereto, and means on the outer springv elementsby which the adjacent ends of the intermediate spring elements areattached to the outer spring elements.

4. In a resilient wheel, a hub section having a rim, inner springelements secured between their ends to the said rim and extending atangles to the aXis of the hub, the ends of the said inner springelements being in spaced relation to each other, an intermediate springelement spanning each space between adjacent ends of the inner springelements, means secured between the ends of each intermediate springelement by which the ends of the inner spring elements which it spans isconnected to said intermediate spring element, the said intermediatespring element extending in the same general direction with relationtothe aXis of the wheel as that occupied by the inner spring eiement, andouter spring elements, each of which spans a space between adjacent endsof the intermediate spring' elements, means between the ends of theouter spring element by which the said adjacent ends of the intermediatespring elements are connected to the said outer spring element, a rim,and means for connecting the ends of the outer spring elements to therim.

FRANCIS M. RIDENOUR.

